Reopened DCU Center posts record in October

The DCU Center in downtown Worcester reopened in October — after undergoing a three-month, $23 million renovation — and had a record month.

According to DCU General Manager Sandra Dunn, the arena hosted 16 events, and the conference center, which remained open during construction, hosted 33.

In all, the events at the DCU drew 87,958 people and generated $710,447 in income. In terms of revenue, it was the best single month at the DCU in 15 years.

There had been a lot of pent-up demand by the time the arena reopened, since it had been closed for the previous three months. And they had four "sold-out" shows.

Pearl Jam drew 21,000 fans, and Phish drew 26,361. Although they each had two shows, Phish has a "clean" stage, in that almost all of the 14,800 seats in the arena accommodated a paying customer, Ms. Dunn said. Pearl Jam, with its more complicated stage, closed down some sections of seats because the staging blocked a clear sight line, she said.

Revenue from those two acts made up 53 percent of the DCU's revenue for the month, far and away out-earning any other performance, even counting the nine shows put on by the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus. The 2013 Rock & Shock, drew 5,000 fans. Several conferences in the conference center were better revenue producers.

From July through October — which includes the three months the arena was closed — the DCU Center posted a loss of $118,995. It had budgeted a loss of $210,506, so the strong October cut into its expected losses.

The Worcester Sharks, by the way, are a drip-drip source of revenue for the DCU. The Sharks attracted just over 4,400 fans in three October home games, an average of about 1,400 fans a game. The DCU closes off more than half the seats during Sharks games to make it feel more intimate.

It's fair to say, based on the DCU Center's revenue numbers, that rock concerts and conventions are subsidizing the Sharks.

Another factoid in the numbers is the ever-shrinking attendance of the Central Mass. Business Expo. The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce-sponsored event, once dubbed the New England Business Expo, has shriveled.

Last year, the expo was held over three days in the conference center, hosting a breakfast and a lunch. This year, the breakfast was cut, and the expo was pared from three days to two.

The biggest eye-opener, though, was the number of attendees: 2,000 for this year's expo, down from 4,000 last year. That kind of regression can't continue if the expo is to survive in 2014.

While the $23 million renovation of the arena has generally gone well, there are still two major issues. First, the restaurant that was proposed to be a major part of the renovation is still a mere shell. There is no tenant, and while the DCU Center and SMG, the Philadelphia-based company that manages the center, are actively searching for someone to run the restaurant, they have not found any interest. The plan had been to open the restaurant right after the new year.

But that is delayed now, Ms. Dunn said, as the DCU grapples with whether to run the restaurant with its own staff, or wait for a tenant to step forward. Another option is to scrap the restaurant idea altogether, and turn it into a retail store. That is not the preferred option, she said.

The second issue are the chillers, something I wrote about on Friday.

Long story short: Two five-year-old chillers, which are used to make the ice, are broken. Temporary chillers are costing the city a fortune

The Civic Center Commission, meantime, has approved a new contract with SMG. The contract was extended by five years, through 2020, with a provision that would allow the city to sever the contract in 2018. SMG will be paid a flat rate of $295,000 a year to run the DCU.

In addition, SMG is paid an additional bonus of $200,000 if the DCU earns more than $4 million in revenue. The DCU has hit that target every year that SMG has been managing it, Ms. Dunn said.

Beginning July 2014, the DCU will need to earn $4.5 million for SMG to receive the incentive; and that target revenue figure will increase by $100,000 each year, to a maximum of $5 million, over the course of the new contract.

Coming up at the DCU are some interesting acts. The WWE Smackdown, a national professional wrestling event, will return on Jan. 14, after a seven-year hiatus.

The DCU's staff held a meeting recently with a promoter of a medical marijuana expo, to be held in the spring. Talks are still in the early stages, Ms. Dunn said.

Medical marijuana is on track to be legalized early in 2014, so the expo — which is expected to attract 4,000 attendees — might be very timely and newsworthy. Presenters at the expo would be doctors who would be prescribing medical marijuana, as well as vendors who sell paraphernalia used by medical marijuana users.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.